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Three-time Grammy Award-winner Ulysses Owens Jr. Joins 8th Annual Emerging Artist Festival (Nov 7–8)

Every generation in jazz inherits both a pulse and a purpose. Drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. hears that inheritance not as weight but as invitation: a call to connect, to mentor, to groove. From the sanctified rhythms of his Jacksonville church to the Vermont Jazz Center’s Emerging Artist Festival, Owens turns the stage into a classroom and the classroom into a stage. His Generation Y Band is less a project than a philosophy — proof that mentorship is the deepest form of improvisation. In a moment when so much of culture feels disposable, Owens reminds us that the truest innovation is continuity: one hand keeping time while the other passes the flame.

Now in its eighth year, the Vermont Jazz Center’s Emerging Artist Festival continues its mission to bridge generations through music, education, and community. This year’s headliner, three-time Grammy-winning drummer and Juilliard educator Ulysses Owens Jr., brings his acclaimed Generation Y Band — a powerhouse of rising stars including Anthony Hervey, Langston Hughes II, Liya Grigoryan, and Guillermo Lopez — for two days of concerts, student showcases, and clinics. Owens’ approach blends mentorship with mastery, championing connectivity as the soul of jazz: “Once we are all fulfilling our roles in this music, we connect — and that’s when the magic comes in.”

Performances run Friday, Nov 7 (5–8pm) at 118 Elliot and continue Saturday, Nov 8 with student groups, a 4pm clinic, and the 7:30pm headliner concert at the Vermont Jazz Center. The festival celebrates jazz as both heritage and horizon.

🎟️ Admission — Sliding scale beginning at $25. Tickets available at vtjazz.org or via the VJC hotline 802-254-9088 ext. 1. 💻 Online Access — Stream by donation at vtjazz.org and support live music wherever you are.

The Vermont Jazz Center is excited to use the EAF as a means to illustrate the great potential of our music moving forward. The only way that this is possible is through community support. This festival is sponsored in honor of the memory of Jonathan Flaccus, a man who cared deeply about the arts. During his rich life, Flaccus intentionally supported the Jazz Center mindfully, promoting causes he strongly believed in, especially youth participation. This concert is being sponsored by Marcy Hermansader, Flaccus’s widow. Concert publicity is underwritten by The Commons and The Brattleboro Reformer. The VJC is also grateful to the Vermont Arts Council for their support and increased efforts in supporting arts organizations throughout the state.

🚀 Boundary-Pushers

Artists experimenting, innovating, and stretching jazz forward

This week’s innovators stretch jazz’s language into new sonic worlds. At the Apollo Theater, Renée Neufville brings her velvet neo-soul to Harlem’s late-night air, while at Jazz at Lincoln Center, master percussionist Cyro Baptista celebrates 75 years of rhythmic revolution with guests Trey Anastasio and Cassandra Wilson. Over at The Django, JC Hopkins’ Biggish Band and AC Lincoln Quintet keep Tribeca swinging in modern technicolor, and the Vermont Jazz Center lights up Brattleboro with the Emerging Artist Festival, led by Grammy-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. and his electrifying Generation Y Band. From George Cables’ spirited trio at Newark’s Bethany Baptist Church to Blaque Dynamite igniting City Winery, the week hums with creators who fuse tradition and daring—proving that the spirit of jazz innovation is very much alive, pulsing, and pushing forward.

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🎷 Keepers of the Flame 

Masters and modern torchbearers carrying the jazz tradition forward

This weekend, the tradition burns bright across every borough. At Birdland, The Hot Sardines deliver their effervescent swing, while Kevin Hays brings lyrical elegance to Dizzy’s Club. Uptown, Daryl Sherman leads a soulful Jazz Vespers at Saint Peter’s, and George Gee’s Swing All-Stars keep the floor moving at Swing 46. The Village Vanguard hosts Vijay Iyer Quartet in a run that bridges intellect and groove, and Philip Harper lights up both Smalls and Beanrunner Café, proving bebop’s pulse is still alive and syncopated. From Zaccai Curtis and Amy London to Alexis Cole’s cabaret grace, these artists remind us that mastery isn’t a museum piece — it’s a living flame passed from one night to the next, one set to another.

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✊ Voices of Resistance 

Artists channeling jazz’s spirit of resilience, protest, and community

This week’s Voices remind us that jazz has always been a language of faith, fire, and freedom. At Mount Morris Ascension Church, Cantrese Alloway raises the spirit of Harlem’s sacred songbook, while the legendary Charles McPherson takes the stage at Smoke Jazz Club, transforming bebop into a sermon on resilience. Upstate, Houston Person celebrates another year of soulful tenor warmth at Jazz Forum, and Carrie Jackson brings Newark’s deep gospel swing to Deer Head Inn alongside the timeless artistry of Stephane Wrembel. In Cambridge, George Coleman’s rich horn reminds us that legacy and liberation can coexist in every note. From Harlem to Massachusetts, these performances affirm that resistance in jazz is not only political — it’s spiritual, rhythmic, and beautifully alive.

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💃🏽 HotSpot Other

Comedy, theater, youth, and interdisciplinary arts.

Baile Cangrejero — Pregones Theater (Nov 6 & 8 7 pm $30) 571 Walton Ave Bronx NY pregonesprtt.org

Jazz & Jokes — Comedy In Harlem (Nov 7 10:30 pm) 750A St Nicholas Ave NYC comedyinharlem.com

The Fat Cats Youth Orchestra Workshop — ShapeShifter Lab (Nov 9 11 am) 837 Union St Brooklyn NY shapeshifterplus.org

Jazz In The Stacks / Books On The Move — Newark Public Library (Nov 12 4:30 pm) 235 Clifton Ave Newark NJ npl.org

The Late(ish) Poetry Show — PhilaMOCA (Nov 7 8:30 pm Poetry) 531 N 12th St Philadelphia PA philamoca.org

🎉 FESTIVALS & SPECIALS

November’s big-stage celebrations.

Washington Heights Jazz Festival — Upper Manhattan (Nov 6–8) A neighborhood-wide celebration of uptown swing and community. Events at Le Cheile, The Bonnefont, and St. Frances Cabrini Shrine feature Paul Jost Quartet, Louise Rogers’ Jazz for Kids, Sara Caswell Quartet, Camila Cortina Quintet, Marianne Solivan, and the Jazz WaHi Big ’Nuff Band. A true Harlem Heights happening. • lecheilenyc.com

Exit Zero Jazz Festival — Cape May, NJ (Nov 6–9) The Jersey Shore’s signature jazz week returns with a powerhouse lineup: Stanley Clarke, Cassandra Wilson, Endea Owens & The Cookout, Amina Figarova Sextet, Omar Sosa, and Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen. Oceanfront groove meets world-class artistry. • exitzerojazzfestival.com

James Moody Jazz Festival — Newark, NJ (Nov 6–9) At NJPAC, the James Moody Jazz Festival continues its tradition of blending jazz excellence with joyful variety. Highlights include Stanley Clarke, Omar Sosa’s Quarteto Americanos, and the New Jersey Symphony’s Rhapsody in Blue program. A homecoming for the Garden State’s musical spirit. • njpac.org

Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival — Annapolis, MD (Nov 7–8) From Eva Cassidy tributes to the J.C. Jefferson Quartet’s Salute to Quincy Jones, the Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival fills venues like Performance Space New York and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum with sound, soul, and storytelling. • performancespacenewyork.org / annapolisjazzandrootsfestival.com

🎂 The Boss Tenor Turns 91: Houston Person’s Timeless Swing

This week, The Boss Tenor Houston Person celebrates his 91st birthday — still swinging, still singing through that golden horn. From his early work alongside Etta Jones to decades of leadership as one of jazz’s most beloved stylists, Person has turned melody into ministry. His tone carries the warmth of the blues, the soul of gospel, and the patience of wisdom hard-earned. As he returns to Jazz Forum Arts in Tarrytown, NY for his annual birthday shows, audiences will once again feel what his longtime fans already know: that every note he plays is an act of generosity — a reminder that jazz, at its heart, is a conversation between time, truth, and love. MORE INFO

🔔 Must See Next Week (Nov 11 – 17)

Next week brings a dynamic mix of legends and rising voices lighting up stages across the city. Pianist Bertha Hope anchors Jazzmobile Sessions at the Interchurch Center, while Gabrielle Cavassa and Tessa Souter bring elegance and emotion to Dizzy’s Club. At the Village Vanguard, Tyshawn Sorey Trio stretches time and form in their singular way, and Joey Alexander & Friends return to Smoke Jazz Club with youthful brilliance and melodic grace. Saxophonist Braxton Cook keeps things modern at the Blue Note, as Johnny O’Neal Trio holds the hard-swinging flame at Zinc Bar. Over at Café Carlyle, John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey offer their trademark wit and sophistication, while Roulette hosts the avant-garde edge with Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Mary Halvorson, and George Lewis pushing the limits of sound. Guitarist Stephan Crump joins Sam Newsome and Dan Weiss at Close Up NYC, and Patricia Brennan continues her bold explorations at The Stone at The New School. For groove and uplift, trumpeter Wayne Tucker brings the heat to the Jamaica Performing Arts Center. From Harlem to Brooklyn, next week’s lineup proves once again that New York’s stages remain the world’s living laboratory for jazz — ever-inventive, ever-alive.

Beyond NYC

Joey Alexander — Blues Alley, Washington DC (Nov 7) A prodigy turned poet of the piano — Alexander’s lyricism continues to deepen with age and grace.

Eliane Elias — Blues Alley, Washington DC (Nov 8–9) Brazilian piano brilliance meets sensual swing; Elias brings her signature warmth to Georgetown’s intimate room.

Brian Charette Organ Trio — Blues Alley, Washington DC (Nov 10) Soul-jazz grooves from the modern B3 master — high-voltage Hammond with urban edge.

Gregory Lewis’ Organ Monk Trio / Tony Monaco Trio — Blues Alley, Washington DC (Nov 11) Twin Hammond celebrations close out the week: Greg Lewis reimagines Monk through the organ’s growl, and Tony Monaco brings swing-school fire with Shawn Purcell and Steve Fidyk.

West Coast Pulse

Tank and the Bangas — Blue Note LA (Nov 6) New Orleans energy and technicolor joy light up Hollywood; genre-blending funk and poetry in motion.

Emily Bear — Blue Note LA (Nov 10) Composer-pianist and prodigious storyteller Emily Bear blurs the lines between jazz, classical, and cinematic imagination.

MORE SPOTLIGHTS

DIRECTORY OF JAZZ BRUNCHES AROUND TOWN